Does anyone know anything about this bike please? Oldie.

OSOH

Hi

First time I've ventured into this forum, I've only ever been a casual - and unfit! - cyclist but have decided to take on the challenge of taking apart a pretty wrecked-looking old 'Dutch' bike, respraying and reassembling, in the hope of learning a bit more about the workings of a bike.

Anyway, to the point. This bike seems real oldie - 3-speed Sturmey Archer hub, and old, well-used leather saddle. It has a badge on, with a rough image of a dog and the words 'St Bernard' above it. It also has the information 'A. Bellemans' and 'Wilrijk' which I assume to be the maker and the model. Google has turned up nothing, but then it never likes me at the best of times!

If anyone has ever heard of this type of bike, I would be very interested to find out anything about it, e.g. age, country of origin as the badge esp. 'Wilrijk' definitely doesn't sound English. The saddle actually states 'Made in Holland', so possibly an actual Dutch 'Dutch bike', but then the saddle could so easily have been made in a different country.

Slightly strange query I know, but this bike has intrigued me, as it's obviously not a well-known make and seems so old - HEAVY too!! Enjoying it as a learning experience, and hope it'll be usable at the end of it all! Thanks for reading.

Chewy Cheeks

Wilrijk is a suburb of Antwerp, Belgium.

I dont know if this is of any help

Google is not judging you.... much.

biondino

This is an excellent project - hope it goes well.

OSOH

Thanks a lot for the suggestion, don't know if it's relevant or not, as I don't know what the word relates to. Also noticed the words 'en zoon' under Bellemans. Can't believe there's nothing coming up on the search engines, entered every combo of words I can think of!

This is probably one of those things that's going to drive me mad now Just thought I'd see whether anyone has actually come across one before, or heard the name.

OSOH

Just seen Biondino's post, thanks for the encouragement Main aims are to learn, and hopefully to get it looking OK for general use - going to go for character, looking for a wicker basket for the front as well. Far cry even from the basic Raleigh Pioneer hybrid I've started commuting to work on in a feeble attempt to get fit, but I think the oldie when finished should be nice for leisurely summer rides with friends along the cycle track

lost_in_thought

A search for A Bellemans fiets (dutch for bike) Wilrijk brings up a result for what is obviously an old ad on 2dehands.be which advertises (in dutch/flemish):

An antique mens' bike, price on inquiry, make St Bernard from bike builder A Bellemans of Wilrijk.

Alas the ad itself, while still cropping up on google, seems to be gone.

'en zoon' means 'and son' - so A Bellemans and Son.

Hope this helps!

Chewy Cheeks

en Zoon

means A Beelemens and Sons ( a bike shop ?).

Good luck with the project - sounds like it will be a very dognified way to travel.

OSOH

That's great info thanks, so St Bernard is the make and Bellemans is a bike builder. I tried searching those terms but couldn't find it :roll: Me vs computers, I never win. Such a pity the ad has gone, it would've been very interesting to see more details, or even a picture. Worth knowing what 'en zoon' means, that's pretty inrrelevant info then.

Thanks so much for having a look. The more I try to find out about this bike, the more frustrating the seeming lack of info gets!!

londonlivvy

Just a thought - I know nothing about the bike in question, sadly - How about contacting an Antwerp cycling club and seeing if they've got any old boys who know something / could point you in the right direction?
http://www.rabc1882.be/

They might have some old photos in the attic?

OSOH

That's a great idea, thanks for the link. Think I'll try to get a decent pic of the badge over the weekend, would save trying to explain it!

Looking forward to getting it finished, won't be fast but then neither's my hybrid particularly, and this will have so much more character. I'd love to know its history!